Fate or Coincidence?
by keesha tenelli
Summary: Tim and Keesha are drifting apart. So are Arnold and Phoebe. When they're both lab partners for the year, can they resist temptation or give in? Takes place in 11th grade in high school.
1. Coincidence?

Coincidence?

It was the first week of a new school year and the whole gang was in the cafeteria eating lunch. They were no longer kids anymore, but now in the 11th grade, although they still had Ms. Frizzle as their science teacher. Tim, Keesha and Wanda were at one table while Arnold and Ralphie were eating Mallow Blasters. Phoebe was sitting next to D. A and Carlos. They were discussing how they started dating and were talking about Phoebe and Arnold starting to drift apart.

"So Phoebe, this is all about how relationships are formed, by starting off as friends," explained Dorothy Ann.

"Yeah, by kissing her on the nose! Haha!" joked Carlos.

"Carlos! You and I were friends first, not by kissing someone on the nose! **_**That's**_**__how!" said Dorothy Ann.

"Oh sorry! But still it was a pretty good kiss on the nose, **_**wasn't**_** it, D.A?" teased Carlos. He leaned closer, putting his elbow on D. A's shoulder.

By now Dorothy Ann was feeling miffed at this. She moved her shoulder off from Carlos's elbow blushing, which he didn't seem to mind much.

"Not now, Carlos," she groaned, tiredly.

"So, what I want to know is, how do I deal with my dilemma? I mean, Arnold's nice and all, but..." asked Phoebe, trailing off.

"But it looks like you're not filling in each others' needs," pointed Dorothy Ann.

"It sounds to me like you're incompatible now," pointed out Carlos. He was always good at finishing Dorothy Ann's thoughts, despite the bickering.

"That's not true!" protested Phoebe, loudly. She lowered her voice immediately. "But it does honestly feel...empty."

"I guess you guys thought you could handle it on your own," said Carlos.

"But you know it takes two to tango, right?" said Dorothy Ann.

"That's right," sighed Phoebe. She started playing with the salt and pepper shaker on the table. "I just wish I knew what to do."

"If you want, we can talk to Arnold about it," offered Dorothy Ann.

"No! That doesn't even sound right! Arnold is busy with his rock collection and rock collecting club! What are the chances he'll even care?" said Phoebe, showing her palms to her friends. Lately Arnold had been so busy with his own stuff that his neglect towards her had gotten so depressing.

"Don't worry about it Phoebe! We'll think of **_**something**_**," reassured Carlos.

"Oh, I hope you **_**know**_** what you're doing, Carlos," said Dorothy Ann, warily.

"D. A, I know what you're doing, worrying," said Carlos. He leaned towards Phoebe.

"She worries too much!" he whispered in her ear.

"I do not!" Dorothy Ann protested, putting her hands on her hips.

RING!

"Oh, that's the lunch bell, D. A! Come on! I'll race you to class!" said Carlos, running off.

"You're on!" agreed D. A. She got up from her seat and slung her book bag on her shoulder.

"Last one there is a rotten egg!"

"I know you are, but what am I?" teased D. A.

They ran out of the cafeteria, forgetting about Phoebe, while she walked out slowly behind them. She sighed. __This is gonna be a long day__she thought.

That day, everyone went to their next class. Keesha and Wanda were arguing about who was right and who was wrong about Tim's Rubin vase for class they were looking at during lunchtime. When D. A entered the classroom, they both turned to her.

"I **_**was**_** right D. A! Just tell her," said Keesha.

"No, I was! It's a lamp!"

"It's two faces, Wanda!"

"Lamp!"

"Two faces!"

"Lamp!"

"Okay, okay! You're both right! Now cut it out and sit down!" Dorothy Ann said, exasperatedly. She pointed to two seats in which they sat down while she herself took a table with another seat to sit in (in the middle row).

Carlos came in next and sat in the seat that Dorothy Ann saved for him, which was the same row as Wanda and Keesha's. Ralphie and Arnold came along next, getting squished in the doorway, which was a bit narrow.

"Arnold! Did you have to do this?" asked Ralphie, groaning.

"I only had **_**two**_** Mallow Blasters not **_**three**_**!" glared Arnold. They both struggled for a while, until…

"Just get inside! We have class now!" called Keesha from inside the classroom. Arnold and Ralphie both pushed forward and fell in. They both got up to find a seat in the front row as Keesha went and took her spot.

Tim had also arrived shortly and chose a back seat next to Phoebe's, eyeing Keesha for a few seconds before settling down. Phoebe looked at him concerned and tapped him on the shoulder.

"You alright, Tim?" she asked.

"I'm okay, but Keesha's been giving me a hard time about my Rubin vase. They're a bit tricky to do," said Tim, facing Phoebe. He pulled out the drawing from his folder and handed it to Phoebe.

"We've been arguing about what it looks like and she keeps saying she only sees two faces while I've been telling her that there's also a vase there too," he explained further.

"Wow," said Phoebe, amazedly. Tim chuckled and put it back in his folder.

"You know, I`m sort of glad you understand Pheebs! It makes me feel a whole lot better," said Tim, smiling. "Arnold must be proud to have a girlfriend like you, you know," he continued, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, real lucky…" said Phoebe, looking at Arnold. She took out her books, a notebook and a pen on her desk, while Tim looked on before doing the same.

Just then, Ms. Frizzle entered the classroom placing her books on her desk. Her hair was slightly muddy red under a sunhat, but frizzy and her dress was themed with science lab equipment. Her earrings were test tubes on each side and a hook hung around it. She smiled and turned to face the class.

"Good afternoon class!" she said, cheerily.

"Good afternoon Ms. Frizzle!" said the gang.

"Has everyone finished their science reports yet?" asked Ms. Frizzle.

"Yes, Ms. Frizzle!" they replied. The class has been tasked to write a science report before they started picking out lab partners for the year. They were supposed to pick one object from their environment and write out what made it a part of science and why.

"Well then, by all means, please come up and put them on the desk. Then we shall be discussing lab partners this year!" she continued.

Everyone came up to the front to put their science reports on Ms. Frizzle's desk one after another then sat back down. She stepped in front of her desk to face the class and held her sunhat by the brim upside down.

"Write out your name on a piece of paper and put it in this hat. We will pick four people to draw out one name from it. Whoever you draw first will be your lab partner,"

The gang all took out a sheet of paper, tore out a small piece and passed it around the classroom. They took out a pen and wrote down their names then went to Ms. Frizzle to put it in the sunhat. She shook the hat to mix up the names, drew out four names and read them out loud.

"Alright class. The names that will get to draw for their lab partners first is; Carlos, Keesha, Tim and Ralphie," she announced. All four of them walked up to the front and lined up beside Ms. Frizzle.

"Who would like to go first?" asked Ms. Frizzle.

"I'll go!" said Carlos. He walked up and drew out one name from the hat and read it aloud. "I got Dorothy Ann!" he announced, holding it up.

"I'll go next," said Keesha, putting her hand in the hat. She read it out loud. "I got Arnold."

Ms. Frizzle turned to Ralphie and Tim. "Who will go next?" she asked.

"I'll go Ms. Frizzle!" said Tim, stepping to the front. He drew the name from the hat. "I got Phoebe!" he said.

"That leaves me last!" said Ralphie, coming up. He drew out the last name from the hat. "I get to work with…Wanda!" he said.

"Alright, Ralphie!" said Wanda, getting up. She ran up and high-fived him.

"I'm glad you feel that way Wanda! These are the lab partners you will have for the year. Okay, class! Now it's time to take your seats!" said Ms. Frizzle. Tim, Wanda, Keesha, Ralphie and Carlos all went back to their respective seats.

"Today, we will be starting our first lesson of the year," said Ms. Frizzle. She turned to the chalkboard and wrote with a piece of chalk. "Our first lesson will be about vertebrates and invertebrates."

Phoebe at this point hadn't paid much attention to Ms. Frizzle's lesson on the board. She placed her hand on her chin and looked out the window pondering. __Why didn't I get paired with Arnold?__she wondered. __I wanted to get paired to him, not Keesha. Oh it isn't fair.__Phoebe felt herself blush after Tim said that, while Keesha glanced suspiciously at them.

By now, Tim had just noticed this and whispered "Cheer up, Pheebs, you can always talk to me! We're lab partners **_**and**_**__friends," he smiled.

"I wonder what is going on between them. But I don't think I should worry too much," said Keesha.

"Why is that Keesh?" asked Arnold, getting up to sit next to her.

"Because I trust Phoebe and Tim. Phoebe's my best friend after all," said Keesha.

"Haven't you and Tim been fighting for a while now? Things don't look good," asked Arnold.

"I don't know, but I just hope we can hang in there a little longer," replied Keesha, sighing. She turned back to face the front and concentrated on Ms. Frizzle's lesson.

To be continued…


	2. Fate?

**Fate?**

That day after school, Phoebe decided to hang out with Wanda and Dorothy Ann for a study get together at Dorothy Ann's place. Wanda wanted to get to get some smoothies together, so they stopped by Juice Booster. Dorothy Ann asked for a strawberry banana smoothie, Wanda got pineapple and vanilla and Phoebe asked for mango and strawberry. As they headed for D.A's place, Wanda spoke out loud.

"Hey, how cool is it that I ended up with Ralphie? He and I always have a great time working together!" said Wanda, before taking a sip.

"Oh, I dunno Wanda. Sounds like you have a crush on him!" said Dorothy Ann, teasingly. She nudged Wanda softly with her elbow.

"Yeah right! Me and Ralphie!" Wanda chuckled lightly. "That'd be fun, but I do actually like…"

"Arnold?" asked Phoebe, cutting in.

"Eh? Why'd you say that Phoebe?" asked Wanda, puzzled.

"Oh well, you've both liked each other since the third grade that's all," said Phoebe, looking away.

"Oh, but Phoebe he's _**your**_ boyfriend that's all! I could never do that," said Wanda, reassuringly.

"Speaking of that, why'd you two go out after all?" asked Dorothy Ann curiously. She took a sip and swallowed. "I mean, you were talking to Carlos and I at lunch about drifting apart, but we don't understand why you were going out in the first place," she explained.

"Well, we started dating by around junior high when he asked me to the Spring Formal dance. He brought a flower and just asked 'Come to the dance with me, Pheebs?' and I said 'yes'," explained Phoebe, slightly timid. "Then he started the rock collecting club and got all caught up in it for a while. He even asked 'Please be supportive of this. You know I want you to become a part of it; it's important'."

"So he hasn't made any more effort in keeping this relationship?" asked Wanda, concerned.

"Not much, just the occasional presents for the holidays or birthdays," sighed Phoebe.

"Well, at least he's thinking of you," pointed out Dorothy Ann. "That's gotta be something."

"Still though," said Phoebe, shrugging.

"Have you thought of breaking up or taking some time off?" asked Wanda.

"He's gotten enough space from me due to the rock collecting club. As of right now, he left for the rock collection convention tonight," said Phoebe. She sipped her smoothie slowly.

"Awww…he'll come back though," said Dorothy Ann, patting Phoebe's shoulder.

"But hey! What about you and_** Carlos**_? Looks like you two got lucky!" said Wanda, teasingly.

"What? What do you__mean, _**lucky**_?" asked Dorothy Ann, shocked.

"How'd you two end up as lab partners?" asked Wanda.

"Oh, come on! It must have been chance! Besides, we _**are**_ boyfriend and girlfriend, so no problem!" said D.A.

"Yeah, you two lovebirds!" teased Wanda.

"Oh, enough of that! It's not like he would draw my name out on _**purpose**_!" said Dorothy Ann. She sipped her smoothie.

"But whenever you put your name into a hat, it's always scrunched into a little ball. So Carlos must have found yours even without looking!" said Phoebe.

"Your name _**is **_easy to find in a hat when you do that!" agreed Wanda. "It's habitual. He totally knew what he was doing!"

"Well…well…I don't see how Tim ended up with _**Phoebe**_ as his lab partner!" said D.A, stammering a bit.

"Maybe Carlos texted him to try and pick Phoebe's name out of the hat!" suggested Wanda.

"Now that you think of it, Carlos was looking at his phone when he was racing with me to our next class after lunchtime. And Tim must have done the exact same thing! Almost like they expected this from Ms. Frizzle!" said D.A, thinking carefully. "Ooh, I should have known when Carlos said he'll think of something!" She smacked her head with one hand.

"So that _**must **_be it!" exclaimed Wanda. She turned to Phoebe. "Omigosh, Tim has a crush on you, or he wouldn't have done what Carlos said!"

"_**Me**_? That _**can't**_ be it! I already have Arnold, remember? And Tim is going out with Keesha!" exclaimed Phoebe, embarrassedly. She felt herself going bright red.

"Didn't it occur to you that Tim and Keesha are also drifting apart?" points out D.A. "Keesha drives Tim up the wall, so he's been getting a bit closer to you instead."

"Plus, it'd be great if Ralphie could step in and take Tim's place," added Wanda.

"So what should I do about it?" asked Phoebe, nervously.

"Just let things bloom along the way. You _**are **_lab partners after all," said D.A.

"Uh….okay, I guess," said Phoebe, hesitantly.

"Hey, here's D.A's house! Let's go inside!" said Wanda, running up to the front door.

"I'm telling you, things are going to be fine!" said D. A, reassuringly as they reached the stairs.

"Alright, if you say so," said Phoebe, nervously. "Time for study practice."


	3. Mission Work Things Out

Mission Work Things Out 

The next day at school, Phoebe, Wanda and Dorothy Ann entered the classroom late. Last night, they both decided to sleep over after studying with Wanda, who had to return home. Phoebe called her dad back home but also gushed over how much she would miss him until then. Afterwards, Wanda called her parents as well, though they weren't happy to hear about that and insisted her not to break her curfew, 8 PM at nighttime. Finally they relented and let her stay while Dorothy Ann picked out a few spare pajamas for the girls to wear. Fast forward to class the next morning, Dorothy Ann was trying to avoid falling asleep and Phoebe couldn't help but focus on the conversation she had with her friends.

"So tell me Phoebe, what are you going to do about Arnold? When he comes back from the rock convention," asked Dorothy Ann, putting her books away in her bag.

"Uh, well...I've thought about working things out," said Phoebe, unsure.

"What? But didn't you mention how you two have lost the spark? How will you get that back?" asked Wanda, looking up from her unfinished homework.

"I don't know Dorothy Ann, I'll try to think of something," replied Phoebe, scrunching up into a ball. Then she looked up. "Maybe I can get him a new rock!"

"But how? Arnold already has a whole bunch. And how will you even find a new one that's not like the others," said Dorothy Ann.

"Maybe I can go to the Grand Canyon and..." said Phoebe.

"That may not be a great idea. It's too expensive," warned Dorothy Ann.

"Plus it's also dangerous. Arnold won't even look at me anymore, let alone talk," added Phoebe. She sighed. "Maybe the relationship _is_ doomed to fail."

"Not unless you can call in a spy!" said Wanda, proudly.

"What spy?" asked Phoebe and Dorothy Ann in unision.

"Me!" replied Wanda, pointing to herself.

"Huh? What do you mean, Wanda?" asked Dorothy Ann, suspiciously.

"I mean that I can dress up as a spy and..." Wanda began.

"I don't think that's a great idea. Besides, what if someone sees you?" asked Phoebe.

"Not to worry, once I dress up as a boy, they'll never see _me!_" said Wanda, happily.

"Why would you dress up as a boy?" asked Dorothy Ann.

"Because Arnold gets back from the rock convention tonight and he'll be in gym class tomorrow after science class!" said Wanda, excited.

"So?" asked Phoebe.

"If I dress up as a boy, go in the boys' locker room and talk to Arnold there should be no shame in that!" explained Wanda. "I'll convince him to work things out with you, Phoebe. Besides, I've done this before, many times!"

"What? Not if they saw through the disguise, which I think they will!" said Dorothy Ann, horrified.

"Believe me, they won't! Honest!" said Wanda, putting her hand on her chest.

"Do you promise you won't get in trouble?" asked Phoebe, unsure.

"Uh, Phoebe, that may not be the right thing to ask," said Dorothy Ann, skeptically.

...

"Hey, Phoebe! Phoebe!" said Tim, poking Phoebe in the arm.

"H-Huh?" said Phoebe, looking at Tim. "Oh, sorry for not concentrating."

"Hey, it's no problem. Listen, can you help me out with the chemistry project? We have to learn about liquid viscosity," asked Tim. He was wearing a lab coat, goggles and gloves like everyone else. There were test tubes and beakers full of water, tar and oil all around the classroom. Phoebe, Dorothy Ann and Wanda only entered the classroom without dressing up and sat on the stools with their partners.

"Alright," said Phoebe, glumly. She got up, pulled the sleepy Dorothy Ann and Wanda to the closet for some lab wear and equipment. Once they got dressed they went back to their partners at the tables.

Phoebe sat down next to Tim, and glanced at Tim, who gave her a smile then turned back to their work.

_I don't know if Wanda's plan will work, but it has to _thought Phoebe.

...

At the end of Science class, the gang packed up all the lab wear, tools and equipment in the classroom. They washed and cleaned the lab until it was spic and span. Wanda rushed out of the class to her locker, knowing Arnold would be back in time for gym class that morning. She took off her usual clothes to reveal underneath a pair of jeans, a polo shirt and tucked her hair in a baseball hat. Replacing her black shoes with a pair of sneakers, she took out a fake mustache and goatee from her pocket and smeared it on. Her chest was taped down with a bandage wrap and she rushed out to the boys' locker room.

Sure enough, the guys were all there in the locker room, changing into their gym clothes. The door swung open as sophomore guys walked in and out, where Wanda caught smell of it. It reeked of sweat, like some of them hadn't showered in days! She spotted Arnold and Tim who were shirtless, held her breath and entered, walking towards the two of them.

"W-Why hello there sons!" said Wanda, gruffly.

"Who are you?" asked Arnold, confused.

"Why, my name is, uhhhh," said Wanda, keeping her voice as deep as she could. "Uhhhh...Randolph!"

"Randolph?" laughed one of the male classmates. "That's a weird name!"

Wanda growled but quickly kept her cool and straightened up her face.

"Yes, my name is Randolph and I'm here to talk to you about my female best friend Phoebe!" said Wanda, unaware of what she said.

"YOU'RE her best friend?" asked Tim, shocked.

"Y-yeah, she's my um, female best friend! That's who!" said Wanda.

"Wouldn't that be Keesha?" asked Arnold.

"Yeah, but she's my childhood crush! I've had a crush on her before, but we broke up. I heard from her that you're not treating her right and you gotta do something about it!" explained Wanda.

"Like what?" asked Arnold.

"Like talk to her, give her some roses and candy. Make it all lovely and nice!" said Wanda.

"B-But Randolph, I think my time with Phoebe has already come to passed. Besides, I think my heart belongs to Wanda," said Arnold. He sighed "She makes my heart go all over the place and she's very spontaneous. I like that in Wanda, whereas Phoebe is sorta, well, mushy."

Hearing all this made Wanda's jaw drop to the floor, making her fake goattee fall to the floor. Arnold picked it up but Tim pushed him away and tore off the fake mustache, making everyone in the boys' locker room gasp.

"Wanda? What are you doing in here?" asked Tim, shocked.

"UHHHH, interrogation?" said Wanda, nervously.

Just then there was a battle cry. A group of boys in the bathroom had overheard the commotion and decided to rally Wanda out.

"Get her! No girls allowed!" they all yelled, throwing their possessions at her.

"Hey! Cut it out! I don't even have gym class this period!" said Wanda, dodging everything.

"You better go Wanda, it's getting rough out there!" warned Arnold.

"YAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" yelled Wanda, sprinting out as fast as she could. She ran through the doors and hurried into the hallways, hiding inside a nearby empty classroom across the gym.

_That was enough for one day! And it's not even lunch time _thought Wanda, panting. At least she knew Arnold wasn't into the relationship with Phoebe anymore, but she needed to stay out of this for now.

She went to her locker, grabbed her own clothes and changed in the bathroom. Putting her male clothes away, she headed straight for her own class. Time to relay the message to Phoebe and Dorothy Ann later on. But for now, it was time to concentrate on being late for class.


	4. Buried Feelings

Buried Feelings

After school, Phoebe exited school through the front doors. She heard a beep and pulled out her phone. It was a text message from Wanda:

To: Phoebe

From: Wanda

"Interrogated Arnold and Tim. Said he wasn't into saving the relationship anymore."

-Wanda

Shocked, Phoebe pulled to the side and sent a quick reply.

To: Wanda

From: Phoebe

"? Why not Wanda? Tell me!"

"..."

To Phoebe

From: Wanda

"Uhhh, got chased out by some of the guys, that's all! Gotta run!"

Phoebe looked confused and sighed. All she wanted was to know why the spark was fizzling out with Arnold. Unfortunately Wanda's plan didn't work so there weren't any answers there. She took a deep breath and headed home.

Wanda was in the bushes beside the front door. She left out a relieved sigh. There was no way she could just tell Phoebe the truth and disappoint her. Picking herself back up with her things, she climbed out the bushes over to the library.

...

Tim's POV

Tim was at home in his bedroom, ready to study. All of his books and school supplies were on his desk. He had called Carlos to study with him, but he'd be running late because of DA. DA and Carlos were always hanging out, although Tim dared Carlos to steal her underwear at her place, which she almost didn't get over. Luckily Phoebe had convinced DA to move past the incident with forgiveness, a trait Tim always liked in her. Spontaneously, a memory from the eighth grade resurfaced in Tim's memory.

February 10th 1999

It was a chilly winter day at Walkerville Elementary School. Tim was wearing his winter jacket, mittens and scarf around his neck, trekking his way to school. Arnold had called him early to talk about how to win over Phoebe Terese, whom Tim also liked. However, Arnold was his friend first so he couldn't interfere. He entered the school to his locker and put his stuff away to head off for class. Arnold peeked out the classroom door and pulled Tim inside.

"There you are Tim! I've been looking all over for you!" said Arnold, nervously.

"Whoa, take it easy Arnold. You don't need to panic!" said Tim.

"I know, I know! I'm just agonizing over what to do about confessing to Phoebe!" said Arnold.

"You could give her a flower," pointed out Tim.

"There's no flowers growing in winter!"

"How about making her a valentine?" Tim tried again.

"I'm not good at that! Maybe you could try making one for me and put my name on it instead!" said Arnold.

"Wouldn't she find out that it was from me?" asked Tim, raising an eyebrow.

"She won't, she won't! And anyways, it will be my name on it, not yours!" reassured Arnold.

"Okay, okay. I'll do, but only this once!" said Tim.

"Hooray! You won't regret this at all!" cheered Arnold. He grabbed Tim by the collar and hugged him, until Tim pulled away.

DING!

Tim and Arnold sat down at their desks. The rest of the class piled in and said hi to Ms. Frizzle. Today they were learning about winter festivals and daylight time savings.

That weekend, Tim got out all his art supplies, including construction paper, lace, scissors, tape and glue to help make Arnold's valentine to Phoebe. He decided on a pink heart-shaped card and cut out the shape. Using his red inky pen he drew several smaller hearts all over the card with curly swirls coming out of the sides. Lastly, he used his glue stick and ran it over parts of the card, carefully avoiding the hearts and sprinkled lots of tiny heart-shaped glitter. The glitter was made of plastic and didn't stick to his fingers, since he held the glue stick discreetly. He looked proudly at his work, but sadness spread across his face. Arnold was going to get the credit, not him. Phoebe was going to like _Arnold,_ not Tim.

Looking at the paper, he pushed Arnold's valentine aside and made himself one as well. Only this time, Tim was going to give it to someone else. He was going to give it to Janet, who had been eyeing on him all year. If it wasn't Phoebe, then it would be Janet. Wanda was too loud, Keesha had her heart set on Ralphie and DA had her sights on Carlos. Tim gave a heavy sigh and set off making the valentine. By the time he had finished, it looked like the same one he made for Arnold. But what did it matter? Janet wasn't going to notice. They both attended separate classes. No big deal.

February 14th 1999

"Oh Arnold, that's so sweet of you! Thank you!" said Phoebe, kissing Arnold on the cheek. She had just gotten Arnold's valentine from him and Tim had advised him to go give it to him.

"Heh heh, no problem Pheebs! I made it all by myself. Right Tim?" said Arnold, blushing.

Tim looked up and faked a smile. "Oh, that's right, Arnold," lied Tim, still smiling.

Phoebe gave Tim a gentle smile then turned to Arnold. "We should show this to our class Arnold, come on!" said Phoebe, grabbing his hand.

Tim watched as the two sauntered off to their classmates. He spotted Janet and walked over to her.

"Hey Janet, this is for you," he said, handing her the card.

"Oh, hey Tim. Hmmm, this looks like a nice card. Never thought you cared so much Tim," said Janet, taking the card off Tim's hand. She looked it over carefully, reading its contents. "Thanks Tim, I never imagined your creativity was so big!" she said, smiling sweetly.

Tim laughed nervously. "Oh, haha. Me too. I'm going off to the washroom," he said, heading out the door.

When Tim had left, Janet threw the card into the garbage can, which Phoebe and Arnold noticed. Phoebe went up to Janet.

"Why would you _do_ that? That was Tim's card to you!" asked Phoebe, upset.

"Oh, why would it matter to you? It was so _fake_ anyways! Tim's style on _my_ card looks exactly the same as yours," said Janet, dismissively. "And besides, yours _does_ look like a replica!" she added, sniffing.

"Oh what?" said Phoebe, shocked. She looked at her card and realized Janet was right. Their cards were nothing to Arnold next to her, she asked "Did you make my card? Why do both our cards look so alike?"

"N-no! I-I did, or I didn't or I-I mean..." stammered Arnold.

"I made them Phoebe. I knew Arnold liked you, but he couldn't make a valentine by himself, so I made it for him," said Tim, entering the room.

"Well, guess I've made myself clear, Tim. Been nice seeing you. Ta-ta!" said Janet, exiting the room.

"Not sharing the same sentiments, Janet," muttered Tim.

"Well, why would you lie to me Arnold?" asked Phoebe, hurt.

"I wasn't sure how to tell you, Pheebs. I like you, a lot. And I wouldn't do anything to hurt you," said Arnold, hugging Phoebe.

"Same here, I'm sorry I've helped Arnold lie to you," said Tim, ignoring their affection. His face started to look hurt, but he straightened himself up instead.

"For all I've known, Arnold, this has been the best valentine's day yet!" said Phoebe, happily. They embraced and shared a huge kiss, which their class cheered loudly. Tim, on the other hand, felt his heart break into pieces. Nice guys don't always finish last, do they? At least not in _his_ case.

Present time 2002

Tim perked up from the flashback and looked around. Things had changed a lot in the three years since that time. And even later on in that year, Arnold had asked out Phoebe a few months later to the Spring Formal dance. Tim, who didn't want to feel left out again, asked Keesha since Ralphie went with Janet instead. Even then he had been burying his own feelings towards Phoebe but now that he was growing apart from Keesha, it was starting to resurface. And now it was something he couldn't ignore. Then again, how was he ever going to let go of Keesha?

He shook his head to get rid of all the thoughts running in his mind. Taking out his pencil from the pencil bag, he decided to study without Carlos. Dealing with his friend was going to wait. Taking his mind off of someone who wasn't his girlfriend wasn't and the only way he could do that was by studying. It always helped clear his head and helped him think properly. That, and maybe even a little drawing, which he'll do after homework.


	5. Running from the truth

Running from the truth

On her way home, Wanda was feeling guilty about lying to Phoebe. She didn't think she had the heart to say what Arnold had told her, even in disguise. What was she going to do? Phoebe was her friend, so she deserved the truth. It didn't matter if Arnold wanted her, Phoebe needed to be happy too. This meant that Wanda would need to get Arnold to back off, so somehow he would refocus on Phoebe. But how? It wasn't going to be easy to do that, especially with Arnold being preoccupied with other priorities. She spotted Keesha looking around in all angles.

"Hey Wanda! Have you seen Tim? I need to talk to him," said Keesha, anxiously.

"Hi Keesh. No I haven't seen him since science class. Why?" said Wanda.

"We're not getting along well nowadays. I don't get why, he's not much fun to hang with anymore," sighed Keesha, folding her arms.

"Why?" asked Wanda.

"For one thing, we keep getting into arguments and fights. Last weekend we argued about which movie to see! I wanted to see an action flick while he was interested in a foreign movie about art in Paris!" explained Keesha.

"Well, you've been together since the 8th grade. Maybe you two are growing apart now," suggested Wanda.

"I know, but I really need this thing to work or...or," began Keesha, trailing off. Ralphie popped into her head and all her memories of him came back.

"You want to be with Ralphie, huh?" said Wanda, knowingly.

"I know! But I feel obligated to stay with Tim everytime!" said Keesha, exasperatedly. "Tim is like a stick in the mud but Ralphie feels more like a breath of fresh air to get you moving."

"You're pretty headstrong Keesha, but it's better to go with your gut feeling," said Wanda.

"Yeah, well maybe I need to Tim about all this. See you later Wanda. I'm gonna go find him!" said Keesha.

"It's so complicated, the way we think about love. Maybe I oughta stay out of any relationships for now. Particularly one with Arnold," sighed Wanda, walking home.

...

Phoebe was at home, absorbed in her chemistry report they had that morning. Tim already completed his half and gave it to her. Now all she needed to do was work on her own, something she enlisted DA to help with. DA was also there at her home trying to help Phoebe and Carlos had just left them minutes ago. He fell asleep on the sofa and forgotten his study date with Tim that evening.

As soon as they had mentioned Tim's name, Phoebe got nervous and threw herself into work to avoid thinking about him, even after Carlos took off. Though no matter how hard she worked, Tim kept popping up in her head.

"Come on, come on Phoebe Terese! Stop thinking about him!" muttered Phoebe, clenching her temples. The thought of Tim laughing and being sweet to her touched her heart strings every single time, more than Arnold! Even _he _used to treat her like that. There was no way Phoebe could concentrate.

"I can hear you Phoebe. It's alright to be distracted," said DA, reassuringly.

"He isn't even my boyfriend DA. I should be thinking more about Arnold, not Tim!" pointed out Phoebe.

"True, but Arnold has been really neglectful of you Pheebs. Look at the way he treats you!" said DA, sternly.

"I'm aware of that DA. But I remember that valentine that he gave me. Even though Tim was the one who made it," said Phoebe, pulling out the valentine from her binder pockets.

"If I recall, Tim was the one who liked you the whole time and Arnold didn't like you until we were in junior high. It was when we were developing curves," said DA.

"I still think that Arnold likes me. And I'm not going to give up! I will make sure when we graduate we'll stay together and get married and have a family," said Phoebe, standing up from her seat.

"But Pheebs, you got to remember that a relationship needs two people to last, not just one! Why do you think me and Carlos lasted for so long?" protested DA, frustrated.

"Because even if I _like_ Tim, I should be trying to keep me and Arnold together! Why else wouldn't we have lasted for three years? Why else would we have been together in the first place?" insisted Phoebe.

DA sighed. Sometimes it wasn't easy trying to relate to Phoebe. DA was more logical while Phoebe was quite emotional. This was one of those times where neither of them could agree on anything.

"I'm not saying to forget about Arnold, but I am saying that you should use your time on someone who's worth all the effort. And I don't think Arnold would be it anymore," said DA, comfortingly.

"I'm going back to work. I will not bother worrying about all this," said Phoebe, turning back to her report.

DA looked on her watch "Wonder why Wanda hasn't gotten back to us about her interrogation with Tim and Arnold," she wondered aloud.

"I heard she got chased out of the boys locker room, disguised as a boy," said Phoebe, not looking up.

"That's Wanda for you alright," said DA. She turned to Phoebe and sat down next to her on the dinner table. "Just let me know if you need any more help.

"Okay."


	6. Halloween Party Plans

Halloween Party Plans

Keesha decided to call Tim on his cell phone. She pressed speed dial, who had always called Tim whenever there was an emergency. And this was one of them, only because they needed to talk about their relationship.

RING! (Tim's phone)

Tim, who was still working, stopped for a few seconds to pick up the phone on his desk. He put his pencil down and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Keesha. I think we need to talk!"

"Huh? Okay, what for?"

"Well, do you want to go for a walk first? Then we can talk."

"I've been studying, trying to wait for Carlos to join me on our study session. But he hasn't shown up."

Just then there was a door opening and footsteps coming in. "Sorry I'm late!" Carlos' voice went through.

"Oh, Carlos just arrived. Don't worry about it Keesh, it will be fine!" reassured Tim, calmly. He pressed end call on his phone.

"W-wait!" yelled Keesha. She looked at her call list on her phone, indicating her call to Tim. "I needed to talk to you about us," she said, sadly. Out of the blue, she heard a beep. A text message from...Janet? Keesha checked her phone and stared at the text message as she trekked home.

...

Carlos was panting and breathing heavily. He help up one hand to signal Tim to wait until he caught his breath.

"Carlos, why did you come so late?" asked Tim, crossly. He help up a wad of completed homework papers where Carlos could see them. "I'm already halfway through most of my studies," he continued, waving his homework in the air.

"I-I know!" Carlos gasped, breathing. He took a deep breath. "Just forgot the time, that's all!"

"That's what you always say! Don't tell me you were at DA's place again. You two always lose track of time whenever you're together," Tim rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but this time, it's not just that. I got invited to Janet's Halloween party. And so do all of the 11th grade," explained Carlos, enthusiastically. He showed his phone to Tim, which showed a text to him from Janet herself.

"To: Carlos Ramon, [Multiple senders]

From: Janet

Hey everyone!

You're all invited to Janet's Halloween Party! RSVP by October 20th for a spooky night out! Dress your scariest costume yet!

-Janet"

"Hmmm...I wonder why I didn't-," wondered Tim, aloud. He was interrupted by the beep on his phone and took a peek. It was the same text as Carlos'. And if Janet invited the entire 11th grade, their own friends would get the same text invite as well.

Meanwhile, throughout Walkerville, that same text invite got to the rest of their friends and could be heard elsewhere.

"Ping!" (Phoebe's phone)

To the tune of "Fur Elise" (DA's phone)

"Bzzz!" (Ralphie's phone)

"Ding-Ding!" (Arnold's phone)

"Ting!" (Wanda's phone)

"But why so early? School has only started this past week," asked Tim, curiously.

"Beats me. But you better watch out. Janet still has the hots for you!" warned Carlos.

"What can I say Carlos? I'm a casanova!" joked Tim, proudly.

"Along with me! Come on, time to study," said Carlos, putting his arm around Tim's. They pulled out a chair from Tim's parents' den and completed their homework in an hour and a half. Afterwards, they packed up and played Starcraft on Tim's brand new computer. Later on, Carlos went home and Tim went to sleep. What a long day, but waiting for Carlos was worth the wait.

...

October 16th, 2002

Walkerville Mall

Ralphie was panicking as he was trying to find a stupendous halloween costume for Janet's party. He stumbled across a clown outfit with bright neon dots. Looking at the clothing tag, it said "XL" for $49.99, prompting him to hang it back up on the clothes rack. He was barely a large size to top it all off!

The costume was full of costumes on their hangers in multiple clothes racks. Three mannequins each stood throughout the store, respectively wearing an astronaut suit, robot gear and a complete vampire set each. Ralphie sighed. The store was going to close in an hour and he was at the mall for three hours straight! He didn't even RSVP to Janet's party, just in case he couldn't find a costume and go. That was until...

"Ralphie!" said two familiar voices calling in the distance. Keesha and Wanda ran up to Ralphie and sped into the costume store.

"Keesha! Wanda! What are you doing here?" exclaimed Ralphie, surprised.

"We're here shopping for costumes! Wanna join?" asked Wanda.

"Uhhhhh...thanks, but I've got my own problem to solve," replied Ralphie. "Having zero luck finding a good costume for Janet's party," he added, scratching his head.

"What ideas do you have?" asked Keesha.

"Thought of becoming a clown, Frankenstein, even a werewolf. But so far, nothing suits me," explained Ralphie, unhappy. "And the costume party's RSVP date is in four days. If I respond and have not costume, I'll be laughed out of the party itself."

"You could always go as Luke Skywalker from Star Wars," suggested Wanda.

"Nah, too popular. Someone else could go as him too!" said Ralphie, shaking his head.

"Just go as yourself, Ralphie. You're better than pretending to be someone else!" said Keesha. She thought hard for a moment then snapped her fingers. "Or maybe you could dress up in your football outfit, put makeup on and pretend to be a football zombie jock!"

"But how? I don't have the makeup kit for it. Not even the fake blood!" asked Ralphie.

"Trust me Ralphie, I'll take care of it!" reassured Keesha. She grabbed his hand and ran out of the costume store with Wanda following them. Little did they know that Arnold and Janet were spying on them too.

"Ah-ha! So Keesha _was _cheating on Tim! I knew it! It's finally my chance to swoop in and break those two up!" said Janet, greedily.

"Janet, what's going on now?" asked Arnold, meekly. "What are you going to do?"

"Just going to dare Ralphie into spiking the punchbowl and give a drink to Phoebe. Then I set her up to kiss Tim and have Keesha see it and break up with Tim. Otherwise, I'll tell everyone what was happening between those four," explained Janet.

"What? That's no fair! It's my girlfriend you're messing with And my friends too!" protested Arnold.

"Well they certainly haven't been _my _friends since the third grade. Why does it even matter to you guys anyways? You were always so neglectful of Phoebe's needs," sneered Janet, teasingly. "And if you don't, I'll tell her you have feelings for Wanda!"

"Alright, I'll help you," sighed Arnold. He hated doing this, but saving his relationship to Phoebe was top priority, even if it pained him. "What do I need to do?"

"Talk to Ralphie about all my plan! If he likes Keesha that much, the temptation will get right through.


	7. Party Time

Party Time

Author's note: So lately, I have updated my fanfiction to a couple more chapters, and I feel it's necessary to complete this one in particular. From what I read in many works within the MSB archive, Tim hasn't been portrayed positively, which is unfair because he is a smart character despite little characterization. However I portray him as who he is, he is also an artist who is sensitive and has observational skills. For anyone who don't believe this, that is up to you, but for any MSB writers who include Tim in your work, portraying him negatively is not respecting his own character no matter how simplistic it may be. If you choose to leave a review for this fanfiction, you're free to do so, but I don't allow any character bashing; think twice about you review. Thank you!

"Hey Keesha! KEESHA!" hissed Tim. Science class was already long over and Tim was trying unsuccessfully for ten minutes to get Keesha's attention during History class. It was their only class he had with her alongside Ralphie and it was during third period. However, Keesha had been ignoring him for almost a week and half and decided to sit in the front row with Ralphie instead of in the back where they normally sat. Meanwhile, in the front row, Keesha and Ralphie whispered and giggled nonstop in each others' ears, stifling their laughter.

Naturally Tim just couldn't help but wonder what was going on and simply doodled hearts all over his notebook, tuning out today's lesson. He pulled out a magazine page with an artist's costume, which he was going to wear to the Halloween party. After school, he was going to the costume store with Carlos and Arnold to pick it up. He was going to bring Keesha along, but she was spending too much time with Ralphie. It was only a matter of time before he knew exactly why.

...

Lunch Hour

It was a crowded and busy lunch hour and Halloween had lots of lunch specials piling in, which had more people in than usual. There were even Halloween decorations all over the cafeteria as well. Near the cafeteria doors, Phoebe looked around the floor and spotted Dorothy Ann, Arnold and Wanda. She walked past Keesha and Ralphie sitting nearby while Tim and Carlos sat at a table only a few feet away.

"Hey Phoebe!" greeted Wanda. She was eating two shrimp wraps with peanut sauce and a bottle of iced tea. Arnold got up from his seat and gave Phoebe a hug before sitting back down. Phoebe returned the hug briefly before sitting next to Dorothy Ann, who sat across from Wanda and Arnold. She was eating a salad and bologna sandwich with a bottle of apple juice.

"What are you dressing up as for Janet's Halloween party?" asked Arnold.

"Oh that? I've thought of dressing up as a lady bug. What about you?" replied Phoebe, looking at Arnold. She took out her container of spaghetti and bottled water with an apple.

"I'm thinking of dressing up as a mummy," said Arnold, pondering.

"Mummies get their organs extracted and stored in canopic jars," reminded Dorothy Ann, warningly.

"Yeah, maybe Janet should do that for you! Haha!" joked Carlos.

"CARLOS!" (everyone around the tables)

"Maybe I'll stick to being a ghost. It's simple enough, right?" said Arnold, grabbing his collar.

"Sure, all you need is a big white cloth and some scissors to cut the eye holes out," said Wanda. She thought hard for a second "Maybe you could use my old bedspread instead. I can give you a hand with your costume if you want. I'm already going as Super Woman."

"Sure, thanks Wanda!" said Arnold, happily. Phoebe glanced at him unhappy at his remark, but felt deep down he hopefully still loved her. She turned her attention to Dorothy Ann. "What's your costume DA?" she asked.

"That's simple, I'll just be a scientist!" said DA.

"Really? Where are you going to get a lab coat and goggles?" asked Phoebe.

"Ms. Frizzle will lend me one, that's how. I'll pick it up before the party of course," explained DA.

"And I'll dress up as her assistant, a MAD scientist!" added Carlos.

"Only at _your _suggestion!" pointed out DA. "Though I still appreciate it very much!" she added, blushing. Carlos gave her a quick smirk before turning back to Tim.

"So what about you Tim? What are you going to be?" asked Carlos.

"That's easy, I'll dress up as an artist. Complete with a smock, beret and paintbrush!" said Tim, pulling out the magazine page.

"Cool! Are you going to come with Keesha?" asked Carlos.

"Don't know, she hasn't been talking to me lately. She's been flirting with Ralphie for a week and a half now. I don't get why," said Tim, puzzled as he looked at the two of them nearby.

"I hate to break it to you, but she probably lost interest in you," said Carlos.

"No way! She and I have been going strong for three years. Why would she be losing interest now?" asked Tim, shocked.

"Don't know. Keesha's hard to pin down and she needs her freedom like everyone else. Maybe you stifle her too much," explained Carlos.

"Well, I feel like I need us to stay together!" said Tim, punching his fist into his hand.

"Whoa man, calm down. What makes you say that? Don't tell me you're hiding something from me unless it has to do with...Phoebe?"

"What? When have I ever said that? It has nothing to do with Phoebe anyways."

"Come on, don't think nobody in our class doesn't know. If it's nothing, then why are you two always talking during science class?"

"Because we're lab partners."

"Talking about what? The projects and assignments or about yourselves?"

"I don't know what this is all about, but whatever it is, I have Keesha and Phoebe has Arnold. If I have to go to the ends of the earth to fix me and Keesh, I would."

"But that's just it, dude. You're not facing the problem, you're just using your relationship as a shield."

DING! (rang the lunch bell)

"Look, I can take care of this myself okay? See you at the costume store. I'm off to class."

"Just be aware of what you're doing," muttered Carlos. He felt worried for Tim, but he also wanted to trust him to take care of himself. Trust was what built their friendship and he wasn't going to let that all go. He packed up his lunch in his backpack and headed for his next class.

...

Halloween party

October 31, 2002

It was finally Janet's Halloween party and her place was crawling with lots of 11th graders wearing scary costumes. Arnold had shown up with Wanda and Ralphie, who was dressed up as a zombie football star. Keesha spent the last two hours getting his makeup all right in his bedroom and dressed him in his football gear from his bedroom. She sent Arnold and Wanda off to the party early because she decided to pick up some chips for the party. Wanda went off to play bob for apples with Mikey, who came as a Frankenstein, while Ralphie and Arnold were discussing how to spike the punch bowl without being seen.

"Now remember Ralphie, just use this old bottle of rum to spike the punch. And not too much," said Arnold, pulling out the bottle. He was dressed as a ghost with eye holes and it had sleeves too. Arnold kept on his jeans since he didn't have any white pants. As for who else knew of the plan, only Janet, Ralphie and Arnold did.

Ralphie carefully uncapped the bottle cap on the rum bottle and poured about a quarter of the contents into Janet's nearby punch bowl. He placed the cap back on and gave the bottle back to Arnold.

"Nice work you two," said Janet, showing up. She was wearing a creepy looking outfit with spiders all over it. On her back was a spider backpack with its legs sticking out from her backside.

"If I have to do this to save my relationship with Phoebe, I'd do it," pointed out Arnold.

"What people would do for love," smirked Janet. "Just remember to give Phoebe a cup of the punch," she added, walking away.

Phoebe had just arrived on the front porch with DA and Carlos when they spotted Tim coming up to them. Phoebe was dressed up like a lady bug while DA and Carlos were scientists. DA picked up the lab coat, goggles and lab gloves from Ms. Frizzle as promised and even brought some for Carlos, who added a crazy looking wig to his outfit. Tim looked quite good wearing his artist costume complete with a beret, smock and paintbrush. He gave Phoebe a friendly grin which she felt her heart jump before remembering Arnold.

The four of them rang the doorbell and the door sprang open with Janet present to answer it.

"Hi everyone! Welcome to my Halloween party! Please come on in!" said Janet, sweetly. All of them entered the doorway and almost closed the door when Keesha ran through it. She was dressed up as a witch with green makeup and carried an old broom and a bag of chips.

"Sorry! Hope I'm not too late!" panted Keesha, setting down the bag of chips on the table.

"No, don't worry about that Keesha! You're right on time!" said Janet, putting her hand on Keesha's back. She led them into the living room where it was covered with lots of spiders, fake cobwebs and decorations, even on the couches!

"What took you so long Keesh?" asked Tim. Keesha, however did not look at him and ignored his question.

"Please have a seat! Mingle! Have lots of fun!" she added. Janet exited the room and the gang looked around for Wanda and Mikey.

"Where are Mikey and Wanda?" asked Carlos.

"OVER HERE!" yelled Wanda. She and Mikey came out of the kitchen and were soaking wet from playing bob for apples. They both dried themselves off with towels from the hallway closet.

"Man, that was a fun game!" said Mikey, wiping down his face. "Hey gang! Nice to see you all!"

"Mikey! Wanda! What were you all doing?" asked DA.

"Playing bob for apples, what else?" said Wanda, pointing to the bucket. It was still full of apples and water, only the floor was still a bit wet.

"Yuck! That game must be full of germs by now!" said DA, disgustedly.

"All you need to do is grab the apples with your teeth. Then you wash them off. Come on! Who's with me?" asked Wanda.

"I'll give it a go!" said Keesha.

"Me too!" added Ralphie, joining Keesha and Wanda in the kitchen.

"So what do we do now?" asked Tim.

"How about scary truth or dare?" suggested Janet, coming up from behind them. They all gasped.

"S-Scary truth or dare?" asked Arnold, uneasily.

"Why not? It _is _Halloween, after all!" said Janet. She looked over at the gang with a creepy smile on her face.

"Maybe we could give it a try," said Phoebe, hesitantly.

"I'd rather join the bob for apples game instead," said Arnold, heading to the kitchen.

"Well if there aren't any more _babies,_I guess we can proceed. Let's go to my room," said Janet, heading up the stairs. Carlos, DA, Phoebe and Tim all went up, following her careful not to trip and fall.

Janet's room was much more creepy looking than the living room and kitchen combined. Not only was it full of black and red drapes pinned and hanging from the walls but fake blood was smeared all over them. Just the mere sight of it could give even Ralphie the creeps. She sat down while DA sat next to Phoebe and Carlos sat across from them near Tim.

"Scary truth or dare is just like truth or dare, only if you pick dare, you have to do something really creepy. Like scare someone!" said Janet, evilly.

"And what if you pick truth?" asked Phoebe.

"Then you answer a really scary question about yourself!" Janet answered.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" asked DA, disbelievingly.

"Like what your worst fears are, that's what!" said Janet, cackling.

"DA, are you sure you want to do this?" asked Carlos, skeptically.

"Relax, Carlos. I can handle Arnold's cousin _anytime!" _reassured DA, smiling bravely.

"If you say so, DA. I'll go first. I pick truth," said Tim.

"Okay Tim, what class did Keesha get the most F's in?" asked Janet.

"Keesha? How am I supposed to know? I'm not her!"

"You've been with her for three years, you should know," pointed out Carlos.

"Uhhhhh...I would say math class. She has no patience for logic," guessed Tim.

"Nice one Tim, but that's actually History class. She hates it the most!" said Phoebe.

"You would know, you're her best friend," scoffed Tim, huffily.

"And I thought you two were close," argued Phoebe, angrily.

"In case you didn't know, she hasn't been talking to me for a week and half and I don't get why! Did _you _know that?" protested Tim, standing up.

"She has _not_! Why would you even assume that?" asked Phoebe, standing up.

"You're _her _best friend!"

"And you're_ her _boyfriend! Why did you even ask her out in the first place?"

"I'm not going to answer that! Go join your boyfriend downstairs!"

"If that's how you feel, then I'm leaving!" said Phoebe, marching down the stairs.

Just then, Arnold, who had heard the commotion, grabbed a plastic cup on the table and dished out the spiked punch. He hugged Phoebe and gave her the cup to drink.

"Thanks Arnold, it's just what I need," said Phoebe, drinking the cup. Tim, who had a change of heart, decided to reconcile with her and went to the tables.

"Phoebe, wait. I think maybe we should talk," said Tim, concerned.

"Huh? Did you say something?" asked Phoebe, finishing her drink. Suddenly, her body felt like wobbly jelly which Tim had just witnessed happening in front of him. He hurried down the stairs and held her up. Arnold, on the other hand, looked mortified but quietly snuck back into the kitchen to avoid getting caught.

"Phoebe! What happened to you? Are you drunk?" asked Tim. He dipped his finger in the punch bowl tasting it and realized it was spiked with rum. But who did it?

"I...I feel...like...I-I like you...a lot...Tim," said Phoebe, drowsily.

Tim was wide-eyed when he heard all of that. His long time crush had finally admitted to liking him and for a minute he felt like he was on cloud nine. They were on the couch and one of the party-goers was dancing to a CD player nearby and elbowed Phoebe on the head. She fell face forward and her lips landed on top of Tim's, leading to a passionate kiss. They both pulled away and spotted Keesha watching them gap-mouthed.

"Tim?" asked Keesha, horrified.

"Keesha! I can explain! I-I-," began Tim, stalling for the right words.

"That you kissed my best friend? How could you?" asked Keesha, upset.

"You weren't even talking to me for a week and a half. And _now _you finally talk to me?" asked Tim, accusingly.

"Maybe because I felt like you were being too restrictive on me, that's why!" said Keesha, folding her arms.

"Are you kidding me? Whenever we go out, we always argue! It's never been the same anymore!" said Tim, angrily. He pointed to Ralphie who also came out. "And what's the deal with you and Ralphie? You were both whispering to each other during History class_ and _lunch hour!"

"Then why did you ask me out in the first place?" protested Keesha.

"Because Arnold and Phoebe were going out and Ralphie went out with Janet that time! At the very least, I'm trying to save our relationship as of now!"

"Actually guys, I think I need to puke in the toilet!" said Phoebe, stumbling to the kitchen bathroom.

"Just why do you want to be with him? I was always there for you!"

"Because he's always up for whatever I want, that's why! AND he doesn't hold me back from my own dreams and ambitions," said Keesha.

"Then go ahead and be with him! I'm done!" shouted Tim, throwing his arms up in the air.

"Fine! Be like that!" said Keesha, exiting to the kitchen while Ralphie tagged along.

"In the meantime, I'm going to figure out why this happened. I'll see if I can talk to Arnold," said Tim, heading to the kitchen. Spotting Arnold, he grabbed him aside from the bob for apples game."Hey Arn, why did you give Phoebe that drink? It was spiked with rum right?"

"Heh heh, I don't know what you're talking about! Though I still can't believe you kissed my girlfriend," shrugged Arnold, nervously.

"Of course he does! I got him and Ralphie to do it!" said Janet, coming into the kitchen.

"WHAT? And you knew about this? Why didn't you say anything to her?" asked Tim, exasperatedly.

"Be-because if I didn't do it, Janet was going to tell Phoebe that I've been hanging out with Wanda, that's why!" explained Arnold.

"That's because you've been too chicken to break up with her!" said Ralphie.

"YOU'RE also to blame! You nearly got my best friend sick!" said Keesha, sternly. "And to think I wanted to be with YOU!" Keesha pulled open the bathroom doors to retrieve Phoebe. "Come on, Pheebs. I'll take you back home!" she said, pulling her by the arms.

"B-but, I kissed your boyfriend...," whined Phoebe.

"It's alright, me and Tim already broke up!" reassured Keesha, glaring at Tim while exiting.

"Wait a second, Keesha. I should explain!" called Ralphie.

"Explain what? That you played with my then-girlfriend Keesha's emotions AND almost got her best friend sick?" glared Tim, angrily.

"If I didn't do it, Janet threatened to rip up all my baseball cards!" said Ralphie, nervously.

"Great! Why did it always have to be about you! I'm out of here!" said Tim, frustrated. He swung the kitchen door open and stormed out.

"Tim! Wait! We're sorry! Please come back!" called Arnold, running after Tim but with no success.

"What's going on? We heard all the commotion!" hollered Dorothy Ann. Carlos and Dorothy Ann were at the stairs with Carlos holding her hand as they came down.

Wanda and Ralphie had heard Dorothy Ann and Carlos' voices through the swinging kitchen doors from the party-goers. They got up from their spots and ran over to them.

"Dorothy Ann, you won't believe this!" said Wanda.

"Phoebe drank the spiked punch! It's all my fault!" explained Ralphie, sorrowfully.

"What spiked punch?" asked Carlos.

"Arnold and I were blackmailed by Janet to put rum into the punch bowl and gave a cup of it to Phoebe," said Ralphie.

"What?" said Carlos and Dorothy Ann, shocked.

"That's not all. I found out from Keesha that Phoebe and Tim accidentally kissed while she was still drunk," continued Wanda.

"That's terrible! Where are they all now?" asked Dorothy Ann, unhappy at the news.

"Keesha left to escort Phoebe back home and Tim left with Arnold trailing behind him to come back," said Wanda.

"She's still mad at me for almost getting Phoebe sick. Tim is just as steamed with me," said Ralphie, hanging his head guilty. "I-I mean, I love Keesha and I've always had, but-,"

"We'll worry about that later. How about we just go home?" suggested Carlos.

"It's fine, I might stay a bit longer, then head out," said Wanda.

"If you can, I'll need a ride back, Carlos," said Ralphie.

"Okay, if you insist," said Carlos, grabbing Dorothy Ann's hand through the kitchen. Ralphie took one last look at Wanda.

"Will you be okay?" he asked her.

"Chill out, I'll be fine!" said Wanda, waving to him.

"Okay, see you in school tomorrow!" said Ralphie, leaving.

Wanda looked at the bucket of apples in water. Seeing half of her friends in a feud wasn't a pretty sight, but the night was still young. She went to the living room to party to some music. After about one or two hours, she walked down the street to her car and drove home.


	8. With Great Confusion

With Great Confusion

AU: Here's a list of songs that you the readers can listen to as you go along with the fanfiction:

Good To You-Marianas Trench feat. Jessica Lee (T/P)

The Other Guy/Just So You Know-Jesse McCartney (T/P/A)

Waiting for yesterday-David Archuleta (T/P)

Disaster-Jojo (T/K)

What If-Ashley Tisdale (A/P)

The following week for Phoebe left her sleeping with great difficulty and confusion as she lay awake. This night was definitely no different from the night before. She couldn't stop thinking about her kiss with Tim and numerous questions kept popping up in her head. What if she really was pining for him and never noticed? Besides, all the feelings she felt was being converted into energy used to try and save the relationship between herself and Arnold. Looking at the night table, she spotted the locket that Arnold have her during their two year anniversary back in the tenth grade.

...

February 14th 2001

Valentine's Day

"Oh gosh, oh no! I'm going to be late!" Arnold said as he looked at his watch. It was already 5 PM and Arnold was running late for his date with Phoebe. They were going to the new but trendy Savory Eats restaurant that just opened not far from Phoebe's house. All he had to do was get dressed, pick up Phoebe and drive over, which was only 5 minutes away.

But today, he was late from doing a make-up test for English class, which he failed with a F minus. Mrs. Perlstein wasn't too pleased, so she requested to his teacher that he retake it, who obliged willingly. Mr. Cockrell, his strict English teacher, wasn't happy with Arnold and Phoebe passing notes in his class, so he was more than willing to give him a retake so that Arnold would learn his lesson. Arnold studied all through that week and stayed to have his teacher mark the test, which he passed with much difficulty earning him a C plus.

Since he knew the test was on the same day as his first year anniversary with Phoebe, he had brought his suit winter coat, complete with pants along with his boots. In his hand was his dress shoes, neatly polished the day before. After changing his clothes in the boys' bathroom he ran to the parking lot and drove his car out to Phoebe's house. He kept driving until he saw her on the front porch, waving her arms.

"There you are!" shouted Phoebe, excitedly. She was wearing her long woolen trench coat with her favorite boots on her shoes. Underneath her coat was a hint of a red sparkly long-sleeved dress that hit her knees and had her hair and makeup done too. Her red sparkly gladiator sandals complete with straps were in her bag along with her clutch.

"Hi Pheebs! Ready to go?" greeted Arnold, running up to Phoebe.

"Yes, I am! Come on!" said Phoebe, going down to Arnold's car. He opened the car door as Phoebe entered the driver's seat.

"Uhhh, Pheebs, that's where_ I'm _supposed to sit. I'm driving!" reminded Arnold, confused.

"That's because _I'm _driving to our restaurant. To Savory Eats!" said Phoebe, triumphantly. She turned on the ignition and sped off as soon as Arnold sat down. When they reached their destination, they both got out and entered the restaurant. However, all of a sudden they spotted their friends at a table near the entrance.

"What the? Why are they all here? We're supposed to be alone!" asked Phoebe, unhappy.

"Uhhhh, heh heh...Sorry about that Pheeb. Let's try to get a table and avoid getting noticed!" said Arnold, tugging at his tie. Arnold had kept the restaurant name a secret from their friends to avoid any suspicion. So far they hadn't even paid attention. They turned to the host who led them past the gang to a table near the window. Arnold and Phoebe hid behind the large menus the waiter had given them, trying to avoid getting noticed by their friends.

"I know you're there," a voice spoke up. Arnold and Phoebe peeked from their menus and gasped. It was Janet! She had just come from the table at the table nearby. Phoebe's former crush Harry Arms was there with her on a date. _Great, another thing to worry about _thought Arnold.

"What about it, Janet? Thought you were on a date with Ralphie," said Arnold, clearly annoyed.

"I broke up with him just last week. He was getting on my nerves, so I went on a date with Harry Arms instead. Doesn't measure up to Tim, though," shrugged Janet, slyly.

"That's because you're always chasing him when he's clearly told you no. And it doesn't help that you're on the rebound after _I_ broke up with you," spoke up Ralphie from his seat. He glared and folded his arms across his chest until his eyes wandered towards Arnold and Phoebe. "Arn? Pheebs? Why're you here?" he asked.

"Uh, hey Ralphie! What are you doing here?" asked Arnold, uneasy.

"Well after_ Janet_ dumped me, I suggested to the rest of the gang to go eat out here. Although we never thought it'd be at the same place that _you _picked out as well for your two year anniversary," explained Ralphie.

"I wanted to keep it a secret, honest!" said Arnold.

"_That's_ why you wanted to come here? To keep our _anniversary_ a secret?" asked Phoebe, with tears leaking out of her eyes.

"That's not it at all! Let me explain!" protested Arnold.

"No need. Why don't you eat all by yourself? I'm out of here!" said Phoebe, angrily. She got up from her seat and walked out of the restaurant.

"Wait! Phoebe! Come back!" yelled Wanda.

"I'll go get her," said Tim, getting up to follow Phoebe.

Phoebe was on the snowy front steps crying her heart out loudly. Her makeup was getting all teary and smudged and rubbed her eyes with her arm, which got smeared with the mess. Tim looked very sad, seeing his female best friend and crush get all upset was unbearable. He sat down next to her and pulled out his handkerchief for her to wipe her face.

"Are you all right?" asked Tim, handing her the handkerchief.

"No, I can't believe Arnold would keep our anniversary a secret from the gang! It means a lot to me!" sobbed Phoebe, in between tears. She took the handkerchief from Tim and used it to wipe her eyes.

"Why?" asked Tim, gently.

"We've gone steady for two years now and I've never thought he'd be like this! I want to get married to him and have his babies. I want us to grow old together and spend our time at a retirement home with no worries. I've wanted us to be just like that," explained Phoebe, looking at the sunshine sky.

"I see...," said Tim, wistfully. Ever since he had been dating Keesha, the first year had been full of bliss and passion. All those times he's had going to the movies with her, then arguments the next day and making up the day after had morphed into a roller coaster by the time tenth grade rolled around. Deep down, he always thought _he_ could be fulfill Phoebe's dreams instead of with Keesha. After all, he had so much to offer. Not only that, it was good to hear about Phoebe's ideals about relationships, which was always a breath of fresh air to hear from her. _Why does she want to be with him if he doesn't treat her right?_ thought Tim. For a few minutes, he forgot that he was with Keesha and decided to admit his feelings here and there.

"Pheebs, listen, I-," began Tim. The doors burst open just before Tim spilled out his feelings.

"Tim! Pheebs! You won't believe this! Janet spilled clam chowder all over Arnold! He's a mess right now!" panicked Keesha.

"Whoa, Keesh, you okay?" asked Tim, holding Keesha's hands which she pushed away.

"I've gotta get back inside!" shouted Phoebe, running back in. Tim and Keesha looked at each other and shrugged before following her.

They all entered the dining room and saw Arnold covered with creamy clam chowder from head to toe. The soup bowl was on top of his head and Janet was still frozen from just seeing what had happened. The rest of the gang, and Harry Arm was in shock as well as the rest of the customers who looked up.

"I'm so sorry cuz, it just happened!" said Janet, still holding her face in her hands.

"What happened?" asked Phoebe.

"Janet happened to dump a bowl of clam chowder right on top of Arnold's head!" protested Carlos, angrily.

"That's not it! She was ranting about how we all hate her and she accidentally hit a waiter carrying the soup," explained DA.

"Then the waiter stumbled and threw the soup bowl upwards. It fell on top of Arnold's head!" concluded Wanda.

"Why are you on Janet's side? It was still her fault!" said Ralphie.

"It was an accident, _okay_?" yelled Janet, throwing her arms up.

"Well then you shouldn't have done it either way! He's still _my _boyfriend!" said Phoebe, standing in front of Arnold.

"Fine! Be like that! Come on Harry, let's go!" said Janet.

"If it's alright with you, I'll stay put Janet," said Harry.

"Fine! I'll just go home by myself!" said Janet, huffily. She went over to the host and handed him a wad of bills before marching off past the front doors.

"You can sit by me Harry!" said Wanda, grabbing his arm. Harry got up from his seat and went to sit with her.

"Why don't you wash up Arnold? It shouldn't be that hard to wash out," suggested Phoebe.

"We'll go help your boyfriend! To the washroom!" said Tim, grabbing Arnold by the collar. They both headed over to the washroom as Carlos and Ralphie accompanied them.

"Come on Pheebs. I'll help you wash off the makeup streaks on your face!" said Keesha, grabbing some makeup wipes from her purse. She opened one and wiped her friend's face gently but carefully. She had kept Phoebe's compact as Phoebe had once left it at Keesha's house, so Keesha pulled it out to reapply it to Phoebe's face. Pretty soon, Phoebe's face looked as good as new.

Thirty minutes later, the boys came out with Arnold looking as good as new. Phoebe beamed as she ran up to him and gave him a kiss and a hug.

"Don't you look nice!" said Phoebe.

"Aw shucks!" said Arnold, flushing red. Wanda and Tim both rolled their eyes while Keesha eyed her boyfriend suspiciously and Harry Arms looked on surprised. Arnold's eyes lit up and dug inside his pocket, looking for something. Finally he pulled out a small case covered in auburn velvet and handed it to Phoebe.

"Huh? What is it Arnold?" asked Phoebe, surprised. She opened to box and found a small silvery necklace chain with a locket. Gasping, she squealed with glee as Arnold took it out and unlocked the clasp. The chain held her around her neck as Arnold snapped the clasp shut.

"This is just for you, Pheebs," said Arnold, sweetly. They hugged each other tightly and tenderly as everyone in the dining room awed. The gang all took their seats and Phoebe and Arnold decided to sit with the gang just this occasion. It was a happy two-year anniversary after all.

...

November 7th 2002

Midnight

Yes, it was a very sweet two year anniversary, but now Phoebe wasn't sure if they were going to make it for their _third _year anniversary. How was she ever going to fall asleep in time for school? Suddenly, she heard a patter of rocks hit her bedroom window. Climbing out of bed, she headed over to the window, opened it and saw Dorothy Ann with Keesha by her side.

"Psst...It's just us Pheebs!" hissed Dorothy Ann.

"Yeah, we got something important to tell you!" added Keesha.

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Phoebe.

"It's about Arnold and Wanda. They've been sneaking around making out behind your back," said Keesha.

"What? Oh no! Why?" asked Phoebe, unhappily.

"We don't know why, but someone tipped us off. They left a note in my mailbox!" said Dorothy Ann, pulling out the letter.

"Oh man, what should I do?" asked Phoebe.

"We'll tell you about this tomorrow. Right now, we'll go back home to sleep," said Keesha, yawning.

"Good night Pheebs. See you in Science class tomorrow!" said Dorothy Ann. She and Keesha walked back the homes just up the streets.

"Good night, DA. You too Keesh," yawned Phoebe. She closed the windows and crawled back into bed.

...

The next day, Phoebe got up from bed and got dressed. She hurried on her way to school, straight to class. She didn't get a lot of sleep the previous night, so she felt very eager to hear what Keesha and Dorothy Ann had to tell her. As Phoebe entered the classroom, she immediately spotted the two of them at the lab and went over.

"Hey Pheebs. How are you?" asked Dorothy Ann.

"Good, how are you two?" replied Phoebe.

"We're doing well. We need to tell you what happened between Arnold and Wanda," said Keesha.

"You already told me about that. What should we do about that?" asked Phoebe, worriedly.

"I think you should let it go. It's time to move on from him," said Dorothy Ann.

"But, I don't think I can! We've been together for three years! I can't see myself alone!" said Phoebe, upset.

"Phoebe, look at what he's doing to you! He's breaking your trust and your heart! Please let him go!" pleaded Dorothy Ann.

"Do you know what happened the day after Janet's Halloween Party? Well, Arnold came to pick her up and went her back to her place and made out. After that he went back home on his own," added Keesha.

"What? Oh no!" cried Phoebe, bursting into tears.

"They don't know that we already know about all of this. Mikey happened to know about the last part," explained Dorothy Ann. "So we're going to go over to the cafeteria at lunch today and call them out for all this. That's when we can grill him!"

"That's when we can kick him to the curb!" said Keesha.

Phoebe looked up from her seat and wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve. She sat up and looked at both of her girl friends.

"Alright, if that's what we could do, then I say we go for it!" said Phoebe, confidently.

"Oh yeah!" cheered Keesha.

"You said it!" said Dorothy Ann, hugging Phoebe.

Not too far from the classroom, Arnold and Ralphie overheard the commotion from the girls. Tim and Carlos, who had spotted them after entering, joined them.

"Man, what is going on?" asked Tim, confused.

"I don't know, but it's gotta be something really cool," answered Carlos, heading for his girlfriend Dorothy Ann. He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "DA, what's up?" he asked, sweetly.

"Ohhh, none of your business you sly dog," said Dorothy Ann, holding his hand in hers. "It's just girl talk!"

"Yeah, we're going to kick a _certain _misbehaving boyfriend to the curb today!" said Keesha.

"Oh really? It couldn't be _yours,_ Keesh. You and Tim broke up on Halloween," said Carlos.

"Well, it's certainly not you, since we're already together," said Dorothy Ann.

"Really? Then whose boyfriend is it?" asked Carlos.

"Yeah? _Whose?_" a voice spoke from the doorway. It was Janet!

"Janet! What are you doing here? This isn't your usual class," asked Ralphie.

"Oh, just here to pop by and say hi to else would I pay a visit?" replied Janet, smirking.

"Still not interested Janet. Not even after what you have done to Phoebe at the Halloween Party!" said Tim, firmly.

"Ooohhh, still feeling stubborn Tim? How about I disclose how you really feel towards her?" said Janet, slyly.

"How about we kick you out instead? Shoo!" said Wanda, pushing Janet out the doorway.

"Hmph! Fine! You'll see me at lunchtime anyways!" said Janet, huffily.

"What makes you say that?" asked Dorothy Ann.

"Oh, you'll see for yourselves! Toodles!" said Janet, hurrying off.

Carlos turned back to Phoebe. "So whose boyfriend is getting ditched?" he asked.

"It's mine. Found out he was cheating on me behind my back. We're going to confront him and Wanda today at lunch in the cafeteria," replied Phoebe.

"What? For real? Ohhhhhh, wait now, I can get him to come over that time!" said Carlos, slyly.

"Don't tell him about that! Just say we have a surprise for him!" said Dorothy Ann.

"Got it!" said Carlos, heading to his guys. "Yo, Arnold!"

"Do you think this plan'll work?" asked Keesha.

"Don't worry, it's foolproof! I'm sure of it," said Dorothy Ann.

Phoebe packed her belongings and headed towards Tim. "Ready to start class?" she asked.

"I dunno, overheard Carlos saying to Arnold that you have a surprise for him today," said Tim, unsure. "What's that about?"

"You'll see," said Phoebe, taking his hand. They felt a flutter of butterflies as Phoebe dragged him to two separate seats to sit down at. Tim suddenly felt as though his concern floated away, but he didn't mind. Surprises at lunchtime felt good, so he hoped that this was a good one. Or a bad one.


	9. The Drama Explodes

The Drama Explodes

That afternoon during lunch hour, everyone piled into cafeteria to eat. Tim and the guys went to buy some lasagna and soda from the lunch ladies. After that, they settled into a nearby table closest to them.

"Does anyone know what this is about?" asked Tim, looking for the girls.

"Yeah, I don't see the girls anywhere!" said Ralphie.

"Oh they'll be around, _somewhere!_" said Carlos, slyly.

"He's got that look in his eyes again!" remarked Arnold.

"What look?" asked Carlos.

Just when Arnold was about to answer him, a loud voice spoke from a megaphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to be prepared to see a lovely little skit about..._cheating!_" announced Keesha, loudly.

"Oh, this sounds like a nice show!" said Arnold, folding his arms behind his head.

"This little skit is dedicated to our own deceptively sweet playboy, Arnold Perlstein!" added Keesha.

"WHAT?" yelped Arnold.

"Oooh man, this doesn't look good," said Tim, embarrassed by his ex-girlfriend's announcement.

Keesha stepped aside and revealed Dorothy Ann, Wanda and Phoebe behind her wearing wigs and male clothing. She stood on the side narrating while Wanda stepped forward with glasses and a red wig on her head.

"Once upon a time, there was a nice boy named Arnold Perlstein," said Keesha.

"He met a nice girl named Phoebe and decided to go on a date."

Phoebe stepped forward shyly waving to the audience watching.

"One day they decided to go to a Halloween party, but Phoebe already left. Arnold came back later that evening where he met a girl named Wanda." At that moment, Dorothy Ann came up wearing a black wig while Phoebe went to the side.

"This is bad!" murmured Tim.

"This is great!" said Carlos.

"Are you kidding? She's grilling Arnold in public! He's not even watching!" said Ralphie. Arnold, who was sitting next to Ralphie, had his hands covering his glasses. This couldn't get any worse, or could it?

"Since Phoebe wasn't around, Arnold decided that driving Wanda back to her place and make out wasn't a bad idea, so they did," concluded Keesha, smirking.

"And Phoebe found out and decided to ditch his butt and lived happily ever after!" said Dorothy Ann, taking off the wig. Wanda took off her wig as well as the glasses while Phoebe came up, standing in front of her boyfriend.

"We all know what happened, _Arnold_!" said Phoebe, angrily. "How dare you cheat on me! After all I've done for you!"

"Hold on! Hold on! Let me explain...," stammered Arnold, shaking his palms.

"That you lied to me? That you lied to_ us_?" asked Phoebe, upset.

"That-that was a-a mistake?" asked Arnold, shaking.

"I can't believe it Arnold, why? I shouldn't have taken part in this at all! I'm her friend, you know, " said Wanda, pointing to Phoebe.

"Well, you can have him Wanda, I'm done!" said Phoebe.

"There is something you should know," said Janet, coming up to them.

"_I_ leaked the information to Dorothy Ann and Keesha!"

"Why did you do that?" asked Carlos.

"To humiliate them along with Arnold. And to show you that nobody messes me with. You humiliated me in the past many times and this time you are going to pay!" said Janet, mad. She threw her nose up in the air and sauntered off as the gang gawked at her in shock.

"So she was the one who gave us the information?" asked Keesha, breaking the silence.

"She must have thought that if we accepted it, we would look like complete fools. We don't even know if it's fake or not!" said Dorothy Ann.

"Actually, it is. I confessed to her. All of it is true, I'm sorry Phoebe," confessed Arnold.

"I still don't think I can take you back. I'm out of here!" said Phoebe, crying. She fled the cafeteria doors in a hurry, leaving her backpack behind.

"Phoebe, wait! You forgot your backpack!" called Tim.

"Let her go, Tim. She needs some space," said Keesha.

Tim turned to Arnold. "I can't believe you would even hurt her like that!" he said, frowning.

"Why do you care? You've never had the guts to tell her how you feel about her!" pointed out Arnold, accusingly.

"Because she's liked you the whole time, that's why!"

"No, she hasn't! This school year, she's been showing _you_ her affections," yelled Arnold.

"It's because you've been neglecting her ever since you started dating! And now THIS?" shouted Tim, disbelievingly.

"I admit that what I did was wrong, but somehow the relationship wasn't going to last any longer, that's why!"

"Because you didn't want to fight for her, that's why! I didn't want to risk our friendship like this over a girl! After all the stuff I've had to put up with, this is by far the worst!" yelled Tim, angrily.

"Then I guess we're not friends anymore, aren't we?" asked Arnold.

"I'm afraid not," said Tim. "You need to get your priorities straight and I need to take a breather." He put on his bag and took his tray to another table across the room. Arnold sat up in his chair and played with his lasagna.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Keesha.

"Well, I guess we should just eat our lunch then head to class," said Carlos.

"What do we do about Arnold and Tim?" asked Wanda, looking at Tim.

"Let them be. We can talk to them later," said Dorothy Ann. She, Keesha and Wanda joined the guys at their table and set down their belongings. Arnold looked depressed and looked like he lost his appetite.

Tim was just as depressed as Arnold. He felt like crying, but knew he had to keep a straight face on. He was always interested in surprises, just not the ones where he lost a friend over a girl.

Meanwhile, Phoebe was sobbing her eyes out in the school's basketball court outdoors. Being confused or betrayed wasn't what she wanted to feel at the moment and she even wished Tim was there to comfort her like usual. Just then, the school bell rang. Lunch hour was over and it was time to head to class. She wiped her tears and went inside to her next class, but not before meeting up with Keesha to retrieve her backpack.

...

After school, Ralphie went into the library to find a book for his report when he suddenly spotted Tim. He ducked into a corner as he saw Tim take out a book. He was looking at_ Cyrano de Bergerac, _which was about a long-nosed man named Cyrano who loved the lovely Roxanne. Tim was always a romantic when it came to love and felt as if he was just as friend-zoned as Cyrano was, at least until the truth was revealed to Roxanne. Sometimes, he wondered if he was ever going to get the girl like Cyrano did. He walked past the bookshelves until he heard a thud, then looked around to see who it was. It was Ralphie!

"Ralphie! What are you doing here?" asked Tim.

"Hi Tim! I was just looking for a book for my report. Didn't mean to see you here though!" said Ralphie, sheepishly. "So how have you been?" he asked.

"Not good, I am not happy about what happened today," said Tim, sadly. "I miss one of my friends, but I'm still not pleased by how he treated Phoebe."

"Don't worry about it Tim, you'll get over it," said Ralphie. "Why don't you come join me and Carlos for a guys only party?"

"But what about Phoebe?" asked Tim, worriedly. "I'm still concerned for her."

"Still worrying about her already? Come on, it'll be the best time yet-," said Ralphie.

"Ralphie? Tim? Are you there?" asked Phoebe's voice. She came up to them shyly.

"Hey Pheebs, you okay?" asked Tim, concernedly.

"I'm a bit okay, but still...," replied Phoebe, weakly.

"Pheebs, we hope you're okay, but I gotta run. Carlos is waiting to drive me back. The guys only party is on Friday at 7 PM so text me soon!" said Ralphie, running to the front door.

"Wait! You can't just leave me! And what about your book for your report?" said Tim.

"I'll pick one from my room! Gotta run!" said Ralphie, pushing the doors open.

"If he does another book report from one of his Star Wars book trilogy again, he'll probably get another F. Book reports based on movie books don't count in our class!" said Tim, rolling his eyes. Phoebe giggled as Tim looked at her smiling nicely into her face. She stopped abruptly then looked at him firmly.

"Sorry," Phoebe apologized.

"For what?" asked Tim.

"For laughing like that," said Phoebe.

"You don't have to apologize. It was a nice laugh," said Tim, sweetly.

"Oh? Okay...," said Phoebe, blushing. Tim too felt himself go red before clearing his throat and straightened up.

"Ummmm...listen Pheebs, I was just hoping that you were okay," said Tim, gently.

Phoebe felt herself go even redder than the last time. "What makes you say that?" she asked.

"Well...I'm just sort of unsure, that's all," answered Tim, carefully choosing his words.

"I'm fine, thanks," said Phoebe, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Listen Pheebs, the way that Arnold treated you for the past three years...there was no excuse for that," said Tim, holding Phoebe's hands in his.

"I know, I was foolish enough to think that it wouldn't happen to me," said Phoebe, sadly.

"It still shouldn't have because you're strong and sweet and smart and...and-," said Tim, stumbling on his last words.

"And what Tim?" asked Phoebe, anxiously. She looked straight into his eyes with a sparkling gleam.

"And...," Tim gulped, nervously. "And I've liked you for the longest time, ever since you've entered Walkerville Elementary many years ago," he confessed, stammering.

Phoebe looked stunned as if she was hit by lightning. "You-you did?" she asked, beaming brightly.

"Yes," answered Tim, gently.

"I've never thought I'd say this, but I like you too. A whole lot," said Phoebe, looking at Tim's eyes.

"Why is that?" asked Tim.

"Because I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since that kiss," explained Phoebe. "I wasn't sure about it, but when I was thinking about you this afternoon, that's when I knew you were the one for me."

"I care about you and I'll never do anything to hurt you," said Tim.

"Shall we go out this week?" asked Phoebe.

"We still have to sort some stuff out before we can think about dating. Just so you know, that doesn't change how I feel about you," said Tim, embracing Phoebe.

"The same goes for me too," said Phoebe, hugging Tim back. They both leaned in for a kiss and as they did it felt warm and sweet.

"I don't think I should check out this book," said Tim, putting the book back in the shelves.

"Then what should we do?" asked Phoebe.

"I'll walk you home," said Tim, putting his arm around Phoebe.

Today had already been a rough day for Phoebe, Tim and Arnold. Now that Phoebe and Tim already admitted their feelings for each other, taking care of some unfinished business was next. If only they knew what was coming up in the week to come.


End file.
